A Woman Asked Patrick Stewart For A Hug At Post-Film Q&A And Got Brutally Shut Down By The Crowd

Anyone who’s been to a film festival or a movie premiere knows that the post-film Q & A has a way of bringing out the worst in people. Stupid questions abound, and both audience and talent are generally forced to suffer them. But last night, at the Q & A after the TIFF midnight screening of Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier’s follow-up to Blue Ruin – more on that later), I finally witnessed some poetic justice.

After a few of the more garden variety dumb movie questions†, a woman towards the front got called on, and directed her “question” towards Green Room‘s biggest celebrity in attendance, Patrick Stewart (who plays the leader of a Neo-Nazi cell in the film), saying “Since I’ll probably never get to do this another time, Patrick, can I have a hug?”

Patrick Stewart seemed to narrow his eyebrows slightly, and the auditorium was silent for just a beat, as the audience collectively pondered the logistics of Stewart honoring this request, of some woman climbing over God knows how many seats to get to him, or him to her, and bring the entire Q & A to a grinding halt in the meantime (it was 2 am at this point), all so she could check off this one asinine item from her bucket list. It was just a beat, probably more than a second but less than two, before the crowd started booing her. It wasn’t gratuitous, but just enough boos so that Patrick Stewart didn’t have to answer and the moderator could quickly move onto the next question.

This may not seem like much, but in more than 10 years of going to festival Q & As, premieres, press round tables, and even college film classes, this was the first time I ever saw a stupid question so perfectly treated to the response it deserved. It was beautiful. That’s good hustle, TIFF midnight crowd. Keep it up.

†Most commonly, it’s the guy asking the question-that-isn’t-really-a-question, wasting everyone’s time, trying to show the movie star/writer/director how smart he is. I guess under the mistaken assumption that he’s going identify a director’s John Ford influence and immediately be whisked off in the President of Show Business’s private. Congratulations, guy! You cracked the code of creativity! Incidentally, we also had one of these guys in attendance tonight, wearing a slouch beanie and comparing Green Room to Peckinpah. Nice, bro.

I always like answering the quesiton-thats-not-really-a-question douche bag by answering, “No, it’s Michael Bay” in a deadly serious voice and then stare directly into their eyes. Hey, it gets a laugh every time.

I like when they have people write down questions and submit them so that someone can vet the questions in these types of things to ensure that the panel will give some interesting answers. I hate it when someone asks an actor about the plot, to which the actor just replies “I dunno, I didn’t write it”. Or when people end up taking 5 minutes to ask a yes or no question. Or when people try to get spoilers out of an actor/director, even though they know that it would violate some sort of contract if they were to answer that question.

“Hi Mr. Stewart, how would you feel about being enveloped in the inescapable embrace of a total stranger about which the only information you have is that they’re deluded enough to think asking this is a good idea?”

The problem I have at Q&As is I fixate solely on the people manically raising their hands like their whole life has lead to this moment; this one burning question — Then they ask how many shooting days there were. There should be ejector seats installed for all Q&As.

I hate Q&As, because I just sat through a 2 hour movie, and I don’t want to sit there anymore. DOOOOOOOON’T CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARE.

If could be Francis Ford Coppola, but there’s nothing I NEED to ask him – I just saw the movie – it was what it was – asking why he made x choice or worse, used Y film is fucking asinine and beside the point.

Questions at Q&As shouldn’t start with “I was just…” or “So I …” Currently it’s become impossible for idiots to get that this isn’t about them but to enhance the experience for the rest of the audience. If your question has “I” in it, it’s not a question, you just want attention the rest of the audience hates you for it.

“Mr. Stewart, great film, I two part question. In episode 4-16 of TNG, why is it that Captain Picard is preparing the Enterprise for a proton cannon defense strategy, when clearly the Romulans have exhausted their proton cannon capacity in the previous assault? And secondly, will I ever find fulfillment in life? Thank you.”

I remember being at a Q&A with David Lynch after a screening of “INLAND EMPIRE” and I regret to this day not asking him about how he chooses shots, because almost every scene in “INLAND EMPIRE” begins with a close-up, and I would have loved to hear him go on at length about the meat-and-potatoes of filmmaking.

Vince, what a snotty little boy you are. How meanspirited are you and the rest of the asshats that completely humiliated this woman who probably was just star struck and unaware that there are rules that must be followed. Pathetic that Sir Patrick couldn’t have just said no, or the audience couldn’t have been encouraging. So what if it was 2AM. All you idiots were up anyway asking the all important questions like “what was your favorite part of the film” and other must know information.

The Mighty Feklahr is a little on board here. Are there some type of posted yIntagh rules that specifically forbade hug requests, or was this terran female supposed to just read everyone’s mind and metaphysically “know” that the question would not be well received?

OR, even worse, is there some targ-forshak “unwritten code” or etiquette involved that could completely go over the head of the bulk of the audience? By Kahless’ Beard! It’s a room of movie-goers, it’s not like this was a press screening.

If The Mighty Feklahr was Picard Stewart in this instance, He would have hugged the lady then asked for no more affection requests. Stewart is supposed to be a gentleman for crying out loud and it’s not like she wanted him to go down on her or something.

Well, you’re certainly entitled to your opinion. And I never said *I* was one of the people booing (or that I’m not snotty), I was just somewhat pleased that it happened. I didn’t say she was a bad person, and obviously I wasn’t trying to name names or shame anyone. I imagine she’ll feel slightly bad about it for a few minutes, internalize it, and probably act differently next time, which I think is a perfectly fine outcome. She was in a public place asking a question in a massive auditorium full of people, looking like a jackass is the risk you take. It’s happened to me plenty of times. And hell, if I make a mistake in a post, you think there aren’t going to be 20 people clamoring to be the first to shit on me for it?

The best two Q&As I’ve been to: Bruce Campbell, who destroyed the “not-really-a-question” guy in the most brutal way possible, and Stanley Donen, who showed up to a Q&A after a screening for “Seven Brides For Seven Brothers” in, I shit you not, a brown corduroy blazer, a black turtleneck, and what can only be described as a pimp medallion and who had no time for anyone’s shit.

Audience Q&As are always tedious, awkward, or down right embarrassing. Only reason to go is to interact with celebrities. That’s all the audiences at these things usually demand or expect. Really the only thing worse than a lady asking for a hug is someone attending one of these things and expecting a room full of non-journalists to ask intelligent and engaging questions. Journalists can’t even manage that most of the time, so I’m not sure why average people should be held to some high standard.

I have nothing to add about this event but audience Q&As are death. I lived in LA for a decade so I went to a fair share as they were common and never expensive. Here is the list of what you’d hear:

– where do you get your ideas? Always asked. From the deadly obvious, maybe Kevin Smith got the idea for Clerks from working in the store where the movie was shot. Or try asking Charlie Kaufman who is an insane genius and your guide to writing Eternal Sunshine is being an insane genius.

– as a fellow filmmaker… – these are even worse. Because they’re always couched criticism of the film that was just screened with a candy coating of naked jealousy and entitlement.

I imagine at college campuses this is replaced with “as an aspiring filmmaker…” Which is the beginning of a question that’s asking for a a magic trick. Any director worth a damn has two factors going for them- luck, hard work, more luck and more hard work. And likely starting with crushing debt.

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The exact opposite is an industry screening. I went to a Producers Guild screening of the Darjeeling Limited and while I didn’t like the movie the Q&A was filled actual, practical questions. Like how did you shoot on a train in the middle of India? (They rented out a long, straight piece of track and just went back and forth. But wait! The light wouldn’t match! They built mirror versions of the set on each side of the train with reversed wardrobe for the actors.)

That was jaw dropping and informative and just what you’d want to know.

I’d love to see a Ben Wheatley film on the big screen one day but living in his home town I have never seen a screening come up that wasn’t also a bloody Q&A, and as one of those people who tends to get embarrassed on behalf of people who clearly have no ability to experience this emotion themselves, I honestly don’t think I could bear it.

I was at a Q&A with Jim Jarmusch and got a chance to ask my question which, I think, was at least a decent question. It went something like, “You’ve worked with Johny Depp in Dead Man, Forrest Whitaker in Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai, and now Bill Murray in Broken Flowers and it seems like all of those parts were written specifically for those actors. What would you have done if one of them had said no to the part or had been unavailable?” His answer: “Hmmm. That’s a good question. I guess they probably wouldn’t have been made at all because I did write those parts with Johnny, Forrest, and Billy in mind and I don’t think they work without them. Shit. I guess I’ve just been really lucky.”

“A Woman Asked Patrick Stewart For A Hug At Post-Film Q&A And Got Brutally Shut Down By The Crowd”

I expected to read something about how sad it is in this day and age that a woman asking for a hug would get booed by a crowd, but nope, you said it was a perfect response. I agree it was- A perfect response from assholes.